Improvement in button-hole sewing-machine



W.- CHICKEN. BUTTONHOLB SEWING MACHINE.

No. 107,001. Patented Sept. 0, 1870.

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ig ite ii 5%tatca WILLIAM CHICKEN, ()FUHELSEA, MASSACHUSETTS.

' Letters Patent No. 107,001, dated scptcmber 6, 1870. i

IMPROVEMENT IN BUTTON-HOLE EiIBViTliNG-IVIACIE-Hll'il.v

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same- To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM Omens), of Chelsea, in the county of Suifolk andState of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvementin Sewing-Machines for Working Buttondioles; and I do hereby declare that the following, taken in connection with thedrawing which accompanies and forms partof this specification, is'adcscripiion of my invention sutiicient to enable those skilled in the art to practice it. My invention has reference to details ot construction of that class'of sewing-imichines used to work button-holes, and particularly to such machines as are shown in United States Patents numbered 49,627, 50,253, and 72,974, the last of which Patents was granted-to me.

M y present invention relates to the means employed for automatically changing the extentof feed movement of the cloth-clamp or holder, when the straightpart of the huttonhole is broughtto the action of the stitch-forming mechanism, after the. eye has been worked, and rice rersa, and also to the meansemployedior adjusting the depth of the stitches for button-holes in difierent fabrics.

The drawing represents a machine embodying my improvements.

A shows the upper part of the machine (above the bed or work-supporting surface,) in elevation.

" B is a reversed planbf'the mechanism beneath. the table,

4 denotes the work-supporting table.

I), the goose-neck.

c, the needle-ban d,'the movable cloth-plate.

The needle-bar is reciprocated or movedup and down by a pin, 6, projecting from a crank-wheel, f, on the end of a horizontal shaft, g, carrying at its rear end a. bevel pinion, meshing into and driven by a bevel gear on a vertical shaft, h, which carries another gear actuated by a gear on the driving-shaft.

' On this shaft h is a cam-wheel, i, inthe top of which is a cam-groove, k, into which extends a pin, 1, at the rear end of a. long slide-bar, m, the front end of which carries the head a, in which the needle-bar plays, this head it being supported on the front end of the arm I), and having acapability of slight horizontal movement .front and back, with relationto such arm, this movement being efi'e-cted by the cam-groove k, actuating the pin 1, aud'the movement taking place dur-- ing the formation of each stitch, to carry the needle from the edge of the bntton-hole back to a distance therefrom equal to the depth to begiven toieach stitch, the needle having a downward movement at each point, or at the extremityof its forward and 'back movement.

All of this mechanism is the same or substantially the same, and operates in the same, or substantially the same manner as. the mechanism shown in the patents referred to. Brit in the machines shown and described in such patents, there is no provision for changing the depth of the .stitch, and in order to effect such change, it was necessar i to remove the vertical cam-shaft and take from it thccam, replacing the cam by another, in which the groove had a. diti'erent throw. or else to use entirely diti'erent machines,

each machine being adapted to making stitches of but one depth.

' To keep a gang of machines for making 'diflerent button-holes, involves, of course, very great expense, and to take the machine partly to pieces for change of cams, necessitates the employment of a machinist; and to obviate these diflicnlties, I make the machine with an adjustable cam, or with a. movable cam-piece or pieces, by adjustment of position of which the throw of the cam can be so changed as to effect all changes which may be desirable in the extent of horizontal movement of the needle-bar to change the depth of the stitch for large or small button-holes, or

fine or coarse work. Ihis arrangement is shown at B and O, 0 representing a top view of the cam.

Fixed on the shaft is a disk, 0, and to the, top of this disk I fasten two cam-plates, p 11, one at least of which is made movable and adjustable with relation to the other, it being fastened to the diskby screws extending through slots in the disk, so that,.by loosening the screws, the cam-plate can be moved toward or from the other plate, the relative disposition of the two plates being as seen at 0.

As the extent of movement of the needle in one direction is always the same, namely, just to the edge of the hole to be worked, it is ouly the side of the cam that affects the' inward movement of the needlebar that needs to be made adjustable, and the other or fixed cam-piece maybe niade an integral part of the disk.

It will readily be seen that the adjustment of position of the movable cam-piece may be effected by any person skilled in running a sewing-machine, the necessary manipulation being as simple, or nearly as simple, as the manipulation required to efl'cct change of length of stitch or change of tension in an ordinary sewingmaohine, and the improvement enables the same machine to be readily used for button-hole stitches of any depth required.

The mechanism for automatically varying the spacing oft-he respective stitches of the eye and straight the method of operating the cloth arm of this lever extends under the wheel, and has projecting from it a tongue or slide, y, against which one of two pins 1: strikes, to throw the lever-arm ibrward, the two pins being attached to a long arm or link, a, jointed at its rear end to one arm of a bent rocker-lever I), the other arm of which is actuated by a cam on the vertical shat't h. The front arm of the link isjointed to a lever, c, by a pin, (I running in aslot, 6, in the lever, the opposite end of this lever -being fulcrumed to a stationary pin, f beneath .the ta lo a. c Q

From this lever 0 projects a pin, g, which enters a cam-groove, h in the'under side of the feed-ring r.

"The friction feed-lever 2/ is moved forward by one of the pins 5 and back by a pin," i When the button-hole eye is being worked, the parts are in the position seen at B, the pin g being in the part of the cam-groove h nearest the center of the feed-ring, bringing the link a into position to cause the pin :to actuate the friction feed-lever, and, as this pin sets near to the lever-slide, as seen in the drawing, the pin is in contact with the slide during nearly all of the movement of the link, and consequently imparts a correspondinelv long feed movementto the lever and motion-pawl.

As the feed-ting,in theiconrse of its rotative movement, brings the slit of the button-hole into position to be worked, the outer portion of the cam-slot comes around to the pin 9 and throws the pin and its lever c outward, which movement ,of the lever carries the link a into position to bring the pin z into line with the friction feed-lever or lever-slide, and the end of this pin 2, setting back further iron] the feed-lever,

(or with a greater space between it and the bar-kmovement pin 11 the feed-lever is moved through a. shorter portion 'of the movement of the link, and a correspondingly less extent of feed movement is imparted to fceddever, friction-pawl, pawl-wheel, gearring, and cloth-plate, this change in extent of feed movement for the respective straight and eye parts of the hole being thus produced antomatically.

To vary the amount of change between the respective movements, and also to make the spacing of the stitches, either in the eye or in the. slit, or in both, as great or small as may be required by the varying degrees of fineness of texture in goods in which buttonholes are to be worked, I make each pm 2 or .1 as a screw, working through a nut-threaded piece, It, turning either screw, bringing its acting point more or less distant from the pin 6-, the extent of movement of the pawl-lever varying in accordance with any variation in the position of the pins z s, as will be readily understood.

It will he obvio is that, when no variation is to be made in the extent of movement of the feed-ring, while the eye and slit of the hole are being worked, one pin may beused, (the cam-groove knot being employed.) the spacing of the stitches being varied, when desirable, by making this pin adjustable. in position as described.

I claim- An adjustable cam or cam-piece, q, in combination with the slide m, reciprocating head it, and needle-bar s, substantially as described.

Also, the pins z z, in combination with the stitchspacing mechanism, and arranged to automatically effect the change of feed movement of the cloth-plate actlmting-ring, when the cloth-plate brings the eye of -the bntton-hole and the slit into position to be worked,

substantially as described.

Also, the feed-regulating pin .1 or z made adiustable in position with relation to the friction feed-lever, substantially as described.

WILLIAM CHICKEN.

Witnesses:

J. B. OnosBY, I Framers GOULD. 

